226 islam, politics and change
Pamong Praja]), and Baitul Mal Aceh (Islamic Treasury House).¹⁶ In
these institutions orthodox Sufi ulama share some influence, but the
heterodox ones do not.
As the state ulama institution which has the right to issue fatwas, the
mpu plays an important role in defining Islam for the region, and can
decide what kind of Islam is to be adopted by the state. By issuing fatwas,
the mpu disseminates its Sharia-oriented views and exercises its political
interests. It has the right to claim which groups are in line with the ‘right
Islam’ and which are not, and which groups should be supported and
which groups should be marginalised. Whereas most of its members are
Sharia ulama, there are also a number of orthodox Sufi ulama, but no
heterodox ones.¹⁷
There are also societal ulama organisations which bring together
Sharia ulama and orthodox Sufi ulama. Among them are the huda
and muna.¹⁸ While most of their members are Sharia ulama, a number
of them are Sufi ulama who are mostly associated with orthodox Sufi
groups (tariqah muʿtabarah). huda’s chairperson, Abuya Ibrahim Bardan
(well-known as Abu Panton [1945–2013]), was a Sharia ulama who
was at the same time also a member of the Naqshabandiyah order.¹⁹
muna’s spiritual adviser, Abuya Prof. Muhibbuddin Waly (also known
as Abuya Professor), was the grand leader (murshidʿamm) of the
On state policies on Sharia in Aceh see Al YasaʾAbubakar,Syariat Islam di Provinsi
Naggroe Aceh Darussalam: Paradigma, Kebijakan dan Kegiatan(Banda Aceh:
Dinas Syariat Islam (5th ed.), 2008).
For more information on the mpu see Moch Nur Ichwan, ‘Official Ulema and the
Politics of Re-Islamization: The Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama, Shariʿatization
and Contested Authority in Post-New Order Aceh’,Journal of Islamic Studies22:2
(2011), 183–214.
huda is adayah-based ulama association established in 1999 to support a
referendum in the province on the status of Aceh (Michelle Ann Miller,Rebellion
and Reform in Indonesia: Jakarta’s Security and Autonomy Politics in Aceh(London:
Routledge, 2009), 54, 77). muna is an ulama association created by ex-gam
members and the Aceh Party before the general elections of 2009. There is also
an association for dayahs and their ulama, Inshafuddin, associated with the perti
(Persatuan Tarbiyah Islam), a traditionalist Muslim organisation. Many of its
members are also members of the huda, muna, and mpu. However, as it presents
itself more as a dayah association, rather than association of dayah ulama, I do
not include it in the category of ulama organisations. Moreover, Inshafuddin
stays aloof from politics and Sufi debates, although some of its members get
involved personally.
Communication with Tgk. Faisal Ali, secretary general of huda, 20 November
2013.